Hoboken Fourth Ward election vacated

Hoboken City Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer has agreed to vacate the June election she won in the face of a court challenge to the results by Christopher Campos, whom she defeated, and the two will run against one another again in November.

The stunning announcement, made as both sides were gearing up for a trial, came today and leaves the Fourth Ward City Council seat vacant.

State Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli, who was set to hear Campos' challenge on Sept. 20, confirmed the settlement.

"Given the closeness of the election, the parties have agreed to this new election so that the people, rather than a court, will make the final decision as to whether Dawn Zimmer or Christopher Campos will represent the people of the 4th Ward," according to a statement released today and signed by both sides.

Zimmer won the election by eight votes and received a majority of the absentee ballots. Campos' challenge focused on those asbentee ballots, alleging that a dozen ballots were counted that shouldn't have been, and a dozen votes weren't counted that should have been.